A wide variety of cutting and drilling tools are used in both the commercial and private sectors worldwide for a variety of purposes including construction, fabrication and manufacturing. One disadvantage of using these tools is the debris emitted during the tooling operations. When working with high-density materials such as for example metal, stone or ceramics, injury can result when this debris comes in contact with the operator. Drilling or cutting operations in high-density materials generally requires a sharp cutting edge moving at high speed to effect the desired result. Such speeds are usually achieved with power tools. This action of cutting or drilling creates a substantial amount of friction, which increases the temperature at the interface between the cutting edge and the material. Often times these temperatures can reach several hundred degrees. Oil is often used to lubricate the cutting edge, which facilitates cutting by reducing the heat created by friction. While this tends to decrease the temperature of the working surface, it still may maintain temperatures of a few hundred degrees. When debris such as shavings, burrs or chips are created from machining operations they are generally hot and discharged from the cutting surface at high velocity. Consequently, injury can result if this debris impacts the user or others in the immediate area. Correspondingly, items in the immediate area may also be damaged if they come in contact with this debris.
Presently, the use of safety glasses and gloves offer some protection to the operator's eyes and hands when using power tools. Long sleeved shirts and pants also aid in protecting other areas of the body. However, safety glasses cannot protect against searing hot debris that enters from above and along the sides where the safety glasses do not fit flush against the face. In addition, collar and sleeve openings that are not securely sealed can provide access to this potentially dangerous debris. Finally, clothing may not protect the user from high velocity impacts, which can penetrate the cloth, and while certain clothing may be resistant to high impact, it may still scorch or potentially catch fire.
Consequently, there is a need in the industry for a safety device that prevents injury resulting from the impact of potentially hot and sharp debris occurring from machining operations such as from drilling or cutting metal, stone or other high-density materials.